From an Ember to a Flame
by cabbageoriley
Summary: Part 7 in my series! When a rival pack attacks, secrets are exposed and nothing will ever be the same. (scenes of RAPE and violence, panic attacks, implied MPREG, and a brief mention of suicide)
1. Chapter 1

Notes: Thank you so much for reading! Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated! !Scenes of rape and violence, so please don't read if those are triggers for you! If I need to tag this any other way, please let me know.

Jackets, shoes, and socks are thrown randomly around the couch in the living room. A few lamps are turned on throughout the house, but the main light is being provided by the moon.

Nathan slowly moves his lips down Lycea's neck and collar bone. He gently moves her ruffled shirt over so he can continue working his way lower. She moans and presses her body up against his. Nathan loves full moons now. They are one of the only nights he gets the whole house to himself, and he can do anything he wants… to anyone he wants.

He stops kissing her when he hears a small thunk from upstairs. Pulling his head away, he tries to hear what made the noise.

"What's wrong?" Lycea asks.

"Nothing," Nathan shrugs and leans back down. They continue to make out until Nate suddenly hears another heavy noise upstairs. "Hold on a sec."

He climbs the stairs and mutters under his breath about how 'if Logan got back early, I swear…' Opening his bedroom door, he reaches for the light switch. His hand freezes as he sees two beady red eyes staring at him. Nathan has no sooner seen the Alpha in front of him than he hears Lycea scream. He slams his door closed and races down the stairs. Lycea sees him and darts to him.

"There was something looking in the window," Lycea stares at him with wide, frightened eyes.

Before she has even finished her sentence, Nathan has grabbed her by the arm and rushed her into the kitchen. He slides a knife out of the knife block and hands it to her as he pushes her back into the pantry closet. He gives her a quick kiss before he grabs her shoulders and forces her to look him in the eyes.

"Don't you dare open this door until you see me or my family, ok?"

"Ok."

Nathan turns to the kitchen island and kicks at the hand carved baseboard. A piece of wood shifts, and he grabs a little baggy from behind it. He hurries back to the pantry and pours the ash out in a line in front of the door.

"I have to get something from the garage. I'll be back. I love you." Nathan closes the white slatted door.

And then he's gone. Lycea waits, completely terrified, and clutches the knife. She watches for any sign of her boyfriend through the openings in the door. When she does see him, it isn't in the way she would have liked.

Nathan slides across the floor, clearly having been thrown from the next room. The person or thing that has entered the house walks over to him and steps on his wrist. Nathan clamps his eyes closed in pain and finally has no choice but to release the weapon in his hand. Another large creature comes into the room and kicks it away.

Nathan struggles and tries to kick at his attackers. He finally turns over and attempts to reach for the wood at the corner of the kitchen island. His fingers almost reach the second concealed baggy, but one of the giant men takes the chance and kicks Nathan in the jaw. He whimpers in pain before going limp on the floor.

"Get him out of here," Lycea hears one of them say. She has no idea what to do. She wants to try to help, but she knows that she wouldn't stand a chance against the two monsters. Plus, she promised Nate that she wouldn't move. So, she watches as they pick him up and carry him away, and she tries not to cry too loudly.

Notes: This is a little different than what I've written before. It's darker like "Dying Embers" was, but, for me, this is really the most graphic thing I've written even though most things take place "off-screen". Again, there are scenes of rape and other violence, so please don't read if that is a trigger for you! 


	2. Chapter 2

Laura immediately knows that something is off about the house. She feels… feels something evil, and she is nervous about entering inside. But, she knows that Nate and Lycea had a date tonight, and she can only hear one racing heartbeat.

She races through the house toward the kitchen. When she reaches out to grab the pantry closet door knob, her fingers begin to burn.

"Lycea. It's me, Laura. Open the door."

The door slowly opens, and Laura swings it open the rest of the way. Lycea is crouched in the corner. Her skin is as white as a ghost, and she is clutching a knife like she'll die without it.

"What happened?!" Laura motions for her to come out into the kitchen. It takes some coaxing, but Lycea finally rushes out. She drops the knife. It clangs against the ground as she grabs onto Laura. She's clearly traumatized. "Lycea, you have to tell me what happened."

"There was someone outside… Someone upstairs." Lycea still hasn't let go of Laura and is still clinging to her tightly. "They beat him. He was bleeding. He told me to stay in the closet and not come out until he came back or I saw one of you guys."

"Who's 'they'?"

"I don't know. They… they looked like two giant Bigfoot people. I don't know. And… and their eyes…"

"Come on." Laura slowly walks her outside. The rest of the pack is just now filing out of the forest and stop when they see the two girls coming out of the house.

Stiles rushes forward. "What happened?!"

"They have Nate," Lycea stutters.

Laura looks up at her dad. "Another pack has Nate."

"Did they have any distinguishing characteristics?" Derek is sitting in front of Lycea and asking her question after question.

"Yeah. They were hairy." She looks around at the group surrounding her. "What is wrong with you people?! Do you not believe me? Two gigantic fuzzy things broke into your house and kidnapped your son! You should call the police or animal control or… do something!"

"We will do something. We just need to figure out who those men were first."

"Why do you need to figure out who they are? That's usually the police's job." She sighs when no one moves to do anything. "I don't know how I'm supposed to describe them any better. They were men, but they looked like wol…" Her eyes grow as wide as saucers.

Stiles moves closer to her. "Lycea…"

"They were… but you're not…" She watches as Stiles lowers his head. Derek looks grumpy as usual. Most of the other people in the room look nervous and won't make eye contact with her. "You're… All of you…" All that comes out after that is a terrified squeak.

"We're werewolves." Derek thinks it feels weird to say that sentence out loud.

"But Nathan's not," Stiles adds. "I think that's why they took him."


	3. Chapter 3

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," the beta says as he nudges Nathan awake. He groans and wearily opens his eyes. Immediately, he reaches up and cradles his jaw in his hand. "It's not broken, so stop acting like a baby."

"What do you want?" Nate grimaces as he speaks.

"Not much…" the man smiles as he turns away, leaves Nathan to sit in the cold brick room by himself. Once the heavy door is closed and locked, he walks to his partner. "You said the house would be empty."

"I thought it would be, Les," the man speaks. "It's the full moon; he should have been out with the pack."

"He's human, you imbecile, and a strong one at that." Lester leans over a table and thinks about the situation. "He's been raised by a pack of wolves, why wouldn't he be just as cunning and powerful as they are?"

"Do you think the plan will still work? George will kill us if it doesn't."

"It'll work."

…

"It's not working."

Lester rolls his eyes at his partner in crime. "Gary, it's only been an hour. They'll be here."

"But, what if not all of them come? We need that house empty."

"Then, we'll go to plan B." The two men jump when they hear the voice of their Alpha. The lead wolf smiles at the effect his presence has on them. "I watched the house for a bit. Only about half of them are out."

"So," Lester finally speaks, "what's plan B?"

"If we can't get the magic out of the house…" he lets his fangs grow long, "… we'll just have to ensure he can't use it."

…

Nathan cowers in the corner as he hears the men walking toward the door. He cringes as he sees the Alpha walk toward him.

"So, little magic boy, what's new?" He smiles.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over." The Alpha motions for his beta to come into the room. "All you have to do is follow one small instruction."

"What's that?" Nathan tries to pull away when the beta grabs him and wraps his arm around his neck.

The Alpha bares his teeth and leans in close to Nathan. "Hold still."

Notes: Yep, Nate just got bit. :( Thanks for reading. More will be up soon! 


	4. Chapter 4

Notes: Um, so... This is the bad chapter. Please, if rape is a trigger for you, DON'T READ IT. It's not very detailed and is mostly implied, but still.

Derek has recently gotten back from searching for his son and is sitting in the living room with the pack. Stiles has had his first panic attack in years, and Lycea is in a state of shock.

"Dad," Laura says. "Let me take Lycea home. She won't say anything." Laura looks at the terrified girl. "She doesn't need to be here anymore."

"No," Derek growls. "After you dropped her off, you'd be alone. I'm not letting you get taken too."

"I can take care of myself."

"No, Laura." Derek demands. "You're not leaving this house until we find Nate."

Scott comes into the room supporting Stiles, who looks like he could pass out at any minute. He helps his friend to the couch. Stiles looks over at Derek. "Maybe her parents could come and pick her up."

"My…" Lycea stops speaking and gasps as the whole group of people in the room turns to look at her. She breathes deeply and tries to speak again. "My parents are out of town for the weekend."

"Then, I guess you're stuck here for a while," Derek states. He glances over the members of his pack. "She's safer here anyway."

Logan awkwardly sits by Lycea. She looks up at him trying to hide the fear in her eyes. He sighs. "Lycea, I know this is… strange."

"And scary."

"And scary, yes, but… we're still us. We're still the people you've known for all this time. We never lied to you."

"You just didn't ever think to tell me you're a pack of werewolves!" she squeals. "Logan, don't act like I'm just going to be okay with this. This is too much to handle. You're all creatures of the night, and my boyfriend just got kidnapped."

"He's my brother."

Lycea starts to say something else, but Logan stands and walks into the other room. She sees him hug Alexis, his girlfriend. She looks around and realizes he was right. However crazy this whole werewolf thing is, they're all still the people she has grown to love.

Her yiayia's words come to her mind – 'do you feel safe with them… then that's all that matters." It's true. She feels safe with them, always has, so that's all that should matter.

Everything makes sense now. The dynamics between all of the 'family friends', the house in the woods, everything. Oh gosh, how could she be so stupid? But, then again, who would ever jump straight to the conclusion of 'WEREWOLF". Probably Nathan's dad. Yep, Stiles definitely seems to be the kind of person to make a quick decision like that. What has she gotten herself into?

…

The rest of the full moon comes and goes, and soon it's morning. The pack has been out all night searching every inch of Beacon Hills, but there is no sign of Nathan anywhere. Stiles has completely shut down. He has been sitting in the same chair for the past five hours, managing nothing more than to chew the majority of his fingernails off.

Lycea has helped the younger pack members make breakfast and has fixed a small plate for him. She takes it into the living room and awkwardly stands in front of him.

"Mr. Hale?" When he doesn't answer her, she sits the plate beside him and goes back into the kitchen.

He doesn't move until he hears a car pull up outside. He immediately stands up and rushes to the door. "Dad."

He older man wraps his arms around his son. "Stiles, everything's going to be okay. We'll find him."

"They've looked all night." Stiles shakes his head. "Where could they have taken him?"

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon. He's a strong kid. He can take care of himself."

…

Nathan takes shaky breathes as he curls in on himself and bawls his eyes out. The Alpha drags his claws up and down the boy's bare side and legs. Nate whimpers but doesn't try to pull away… not this time. Last time he tried to fight back, and it just made things worse. The beast seems to enjoy tracing the bite wound on Nathan's side as it continues to slowly bleed. Then, he leans in closer…

…

It's past noon, and no one has been able to find Nate. Mr. Stilinski has even been out searching. Scott comes back with the latest report – nothing. Derek growls and smashes his fist through a support beam by the front door. Lycea is unable to hide the yelp that leaves her throat.

"Boyd, Isaac, come with me," Derek orders. "We'll search again. North this time."

…

Nathan presses himself into the corner of his cell as far as he can. He holds his hands out in front of him. They are tied together with a pair of old shoe strings. He could easily snap them in half if he could just figure out how to use his new wolf powers. But, he can't- maybe it's the fear, maybe it's the pain. "Please, stop."

The Alpha grabs him by the ankles and pulls him out into the middle of the small room. Nathan struggles as the giant creature tries to turn him over onto his stomach. He chose not to fight the last time, but it didn't matter. He's made up his mind that if it's going to happen, he might as well fight it as hard as he can.

The wolf clutches Nate's hips and holds him down to the floor. He screams as loud as he can- screams for help, for anyone to come and save him. All it gets him is a punch in the head. He's still dazed as the Alpha wads up Nathan's underwear and shoves them into his mouth to keep him from screaming.

"Try it again." The creature smiles. "Scream. Go ahead." Nathan sobs. "No one can hear you. No one is coming."

Notes: Thank you for reading. I'm sorry about the content of the chapter. :( The fic will get a little lighter soon! Please leave comments, constructive criticism,... 


	5. Chapter 5

Isaac is the first to notice it. His change in posture and attention alert the rest of the pack. Lycea tenses as she sees the change in the creatures around her. Isaac speaks. "Do you smell that?"

"It's a wolf." Scott heads into the other room. Derek stands and quietly gives instructions to his betas. Scott gently opens the front door. "Stiles! Derek!" The whole pack runs out onto the porch. There, at the base of the steps, is an unconscious Nathan. His clothes and body are covered from head to toe in dried blood, fresh blood, dirt, mud, and urine.

Stiles falls down beside his son. "Nathan!" His tears stream down his face and fall to the ground between him and his son. "Oh gosh…" His hands are shaking as he reaches out and wipes the blood away from Nathan's head and mouth. "Derek…"

Derek peels Nathan's shirt away from his side. The red bite marks stand out against his otherwise pale skin. "Get him inside." He frantically looks around at the panicked faces around him. "Wyatt, can you go up to his room and get Deaton's supply box?"

"Yeah," the Whittemore boy nods and darts back into the house.

Derek lifts his precious child into his arms and walks back into the house. He lays him down on the couch in the living room.

"Nathan?!" Lycea rushes forward. She stops and jerks back when Derek looks up at her and growls.

Wyatt comes back down cautiously holding the box. He looks around the room and tries to decide who to give it to. Stiles glances over at Lycea.

"You do it."

"Me?!" She swallows hard. "Why… why me? I…"

"You're human," Scott explains. "You can touch the herbs he needs."

Lycea cautiously steps toward her boyfriend. She takes the box from Wyatt. He runs out of the room to join the rest of the younger wolves. "What do I do?"

Stiles points to the correct plants she needs, and she pulls them from the box. Taking a deep breath, she presses the substance to the wound. Nathan immediately jerks away from her touch. His eyes open and the pack can see the shining color. Derek holds him down.

"Lycea," he growls, "keep pressing it in."

"But, it's hurting him!"

"Keep. Pressing. It. In," Derek orders.

Nathan continues to writhe. His fingernails elongate, and he tries to scratch at his father.

"Nathan! Stop!" Derek tries to get through to his son. "Nathan! It's me. Calm down!"

Nate growls and tears into his father's arm. Derek grabs hold of Nate's neck and roars. Nathan's eyes fade to their normal hue, and he presses himself back into the couch.

"Dad?"

"Nate, you're going to be okay." Derek moves over so Stiles can get closer to him. Lycea pulls the herbs away and stares at her bloodied hands.

…

"What do we do now?" one of the Alpha's goons asks.

"We wait," he replies. "He can't use his magic to fight us away now. We'll wait until this has all died down a bit. Then, we'll attack."

"Think we can take 'em?" Lester questions.

"Without his magic? Most definitely," the Alpha smirks. "We'll wait until all of them are out of the house. They won't know we're there until it's too late."


	6. Chapter 6

Nate moans as he shifts in bed. The torn tissue has mended, but he can still feel a slight pulling in his side and other parts of his body. His dad is beside him in an instant.

"Hey, kiddo," Stiles says. "Feeling better?"

Nathan nods, but doesn't speak.

"Want something to eat?" Stiles watches as Nate shakes his head. "Lydia made soup for you. Chicken noodle- one of your favorites." Not a word. "Nate, talk to me." Stiles places his hand on his son's knee. He flinches. Stiles gives him a questioning look.

"I'm fine. It's just the bite… Lycea… Everything. It's a lot to take in."

He nods and leans over to kiss Nathan's head. "Sure you don't want any soup?"

"I'm sure, Dad." Nathan eases himself back down onto the bed. "I'm just gonna sleep for a little longer. I don't feel so good."

Stiles nods and exits the room. He doesn't see Nathan roll over and start to cry.

…

When his cell phone vibrates, Nate isn't expecting the person calling to be Lycea. A few hours after he had been tossed back in front of the Hale house, Derek had finally agreed that Lycea could be taken home. Even though her parents were away, she seemed more than ready to go home. Now, he apprehensively answers his phone.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Hey." Nathan can tell she doesn't quite know what to say. "Are you okay?"

"Been better."

"Um… Nate… I don't…"

"If you're breaking up with me, it's okay. I wouldn't want to date a werewolf either." Nathan is almost ready to hang up the phone when she finally answers.

"I'm not breaking up with you. Are… are you breaking up with me?"

"No. I… What are you calling for, then?" Nate is completely confused. She's acting like she still wants him. How could that be possible?

She giggles before answering. "To see if you're okay." There's a pause. "I thought I'd give you a few days to recuperate before I came to see you. You know, let things settle a bit."

"Oh. Okay? Thank you." He doesn't know what to say. "You can come over any time, really."

"I'll see you soon, then." She pauses awkwardly. "Now I know why your father is so intimidating."

"Yeah, he's the Alpha, the leader of our pack." Nathan sighs. "If you want to know stuff, just ask. It looks like we don't have to keep the secret from you anymore."

"Okay. Well, Nate. I think I'm gonna go. I'll let you rest."

"Thanks."

"Be careful." She hangs up her phone, and Nathan soon follows suit. He could hear the catch in her voice as she said those last two words.


	7. Chapter 7

"Nate, get up. We're training in twenty minutes," Stiles informs his son. Nathan groans and pulls his sheets over his head. Stiles taps the side of his son's foot before leaving.

Twenty minutes later the whole pack is outside waiting to begin. There's no sign of Nathan. Derek storms into the house and up to his son's room.

"Nathan, get up. We need you outside. You have to learn how to control your abilities."

"I don't want to."

"You have to, son. It's dangerous to not be able to control the change… your strength…"

"I'll be fine," Nathan mumbles.

"No, you won't. Ask your uncle Scott. Ask any of the pack. Now, get up. You'll spar against Laura first."

Nathan growls at him.

"Don't growl at me, Nathan. Get up."

Nate begrudgingly gets up and jerks his clothes on. He stomps down the stairs and out into the yard. He stands in front of Laura but doesn't move to attack her like he's supposed to.

"Natey, come on. You won't hurt me. I won't hurt you- much." She smiles playfully at her younger brother.

Nathan rolls his eyes and crouches down. He lunges, and Laura immediately blocks him and knocks him to the ground. His ankle twists, but he can feel it healing as he stands up. This process continues a few more times.

"Come on," Laura encourages when he stops.

"No! You knock me off every time. It's not fair. I should be able to do something."

"You're too predictable. Try something else."

"I tried everything I possibly could, LAURA! Nothing worked! Nothing helped!"

"Well, that's just not good enough. You have to be unpredictable."

Nathan growls and turns away from her. His anger and self-loathing are building up inside him exponentially. He starts to walk into the woods. He just needs to get away from her, from everyone, everything.

"Don't stop now, Nate. Come on." She reaches out to stop him, and in a split second Nathan has turned and slashed his claws across her face. She collapses to the ground in shock. He pins her to the ground and hovers his hand over her neck.

"How was that, Laura? Did you predict that?"

Laura tries not to appear as scared as she feels. "It was better." She swallows hard. His eyes track the movement.

"So easy."

"What?" she asks.

His claws scrape lightly against her neck. "It would be so easy to kill you right now." He smiles.

That's it. She can't take it. "DAD!" she screams in horror. Her brother has never acted like this before.

He lets his claws slightly sink into the flesh of her throat. She screams and tries to fight him off.

Derek races up to the situation and growls. "Nathan." Nathan looks up at him with a sneer. "Get off of your sister."

"Make me."

Derek stares his son down. Nathan has the nerve to laugh.

"You're not my Alpha."

"But, I am your father, and I said get off of her."

Nathan squeezes Laura's throat a bit tighter just for fun. Derek lunges and grabs his son. He knocks him to the ground. Stiles runs to Laura and pulls her away.

Nathan snarls, bearing his teeth at his father. Derek tries to pin him down as he continues to try to scratch, kick, and bite him.

"Nate, STOP!"

"Get off of me," Nathan says through clenched fangs.

"Make me," Derek challenges. They struggle for dominance for a few tense minutes. Derek hates himself for it later, but he snaps his son's wrist in the process.

The pain kills the power in Nathan's wolf, and he comes back to himself with a start. And, suddenly everything is so close. So, so close.

"Dad, get… get off." He tries to stay calm, but he's trapped. His mind flashes back to after he was bitten. He can feel the Alpha holding him down against the dirty concrete… his hands sliding over his body.

He fights against his father. He pounds against his chest and his arms. He tries to pull away, to slide out from beneath Derek's tremendous weight. "Get off, get off, get off…" He's frantic now.

Derek doesn't realize his son is back to himself until the scent of terror and salty tears reaches his nose. His son yells "GET OFF!" with a blood-curdling scream, and he immediately loosens his grip and leans back. Nathan sobs and gasps as he lies on the ground.

Stiles leaves Laura and rushes to his son. "Nate. Breathe." He tries to sit him up, but Nathan fights against him.

"No… DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Nate," Stiles tries, holding his hands up and away from his son. "Nate, it's okay."

Nathan gasps for air, but he can't stop crying. Stiles knows what's happening.

"Whoa, whoa. Focus on my voice. Nate, breathe through your nose, come on." He inches closer to his son and places a hand on his shoulder. Nathan's whole body jerks but seems to calm just slightly. "Focus, Nate. Breathe."

He can't breathe. As he tries to suck in air, his lungs are doing their best to force what little remains in them out. His vision is blurry. The blackness encroaching in his peripheral vision is only interrupted by red and yellow flashes of color. The longer it lasts, the more panicked he gets because it feels like he's going to die.

Stiles motions for Derek to get closer, so he does. He places his hand on the back of his son's neck and helps his husband support him. Nathan's fingers weakly clutch at his dads' arms. His lungs are burning, and his body is wracked with tremors. It's so hard, but he tries to focus on his dad's voice. He really does try, but he can't.

Derek grips him when he fully collapses. After a minute he carries him into the house.

...

Nathan wakes with a start. His head pounds furiously when he sits up, so he gently eases himself back down into his pillows. He breathes deeply through his nose and shakily exhales. He knows what happened. The whole pack was there, and he feels like an idiot.

Stiles comes into the room with a glass of water. He sits by his son on the bed and reaches out to raise him up. Nate flinches. Stiles doesn't move back. Instead he ignores it and continues to help his son sit up. He puts some pillows behind Nathan's back, and watches as he sinks into them. He hands him the cool glass of water.

Nate's hand trembles as he takes it and raises it to his mouth. He gulps down some of the water, only choking a little bit. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem." Stiles smiles cautiously. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," he laughs bitterly.

Stiles reaches to cup his son's head in his hand. Nathan pulls away. The young man has shied away from touch ever since he got back home. He's startled so easily, and… he just acts different. Stiles has a horrible feeling that he now knows why.

"Did… Did the other Alpha… do… 'things' to you?"

Nate glances away from his dad. He forces himself to steady his breathing. "What do you mean?"

"Nathan," Stiles sighs, "did the Alpha… do things to you? Did he touch you? Did he," Stiles forces the word past his lips, "rape you?"

"No!" Nathan's heart rate is through the roof. He swallows and forces himself to calm down. He bites his lip as he closes his eyes and thinks back to all the times his grandfather let him play with his antique lie detector. Believe the lie. Believe the lie.

"You can tell me if he did. It wasn't your fault. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"No, Dad. He…" Breathe, just breathe. "He didn't do anything."

"We need to know if he did. You know how you, Logan, and Laura were born. If…"

"No. No, no, no." His eyes bug out a little as that thought crosses his mind. "Dad. I… I swear. We don't need to talk about this. No."

"I just thought," Stiles starts. "The way you panicked today… The way you sounded when you screamed."

"I was disoriented. I was with Laura, and then the next thing I know Dad was on… top… of me." He swallows and tries to breathe, but he feels overwhelmed again.

"Breathe, Nate." Stiles sighs. "Having your wolf take control can be scary and confusing." Stiles looks straight into his son's eyes. "You promise me that nothing happened with the other Alpha."

"Nothing happened." Nathan takes a deep breath. "I promise."

Stiles nods, not hearing a lie but not fully believing that's the whole truth. "Okay, I trust you."


	8. Chapter 8

Three weeks after the attack most things have returned to normal. Last night, Nate snuck out of the house to spend some time with Lycea. Little did he know her grandmother was in town and most of the family was still awake. He wasn't even close to the house (or Lycea's window) when the door opened and Yiayia motioned for him to come in and thanked him for coming to see her. He left after a little while and snuck back in Lycea's window when he could be sure no one was looking. Lycea complained about "how close that was", and how embarrassing it would be if her yiayia found out about why he was really there.

Now, it's early morning, and he's pacing back and forth in her bathroom. He glances at the toilet before looking at his reflection in the mirror. He swallows hard and kneels down.

Lycea wakes up and notices her boyfriend isn't in bed with her. She wipes her hair from her face and looks around the room. When she finds Nathan, he is sitting against the bathroom wall.

"What's wrong?" she whispers.

"I think I'm going to throw up."

"No. No, you can't. My parents will hear you!" Lycea closes the door and kneels down beside him. "What's wrong? Do werewolves get sick?"

Nathan shakes his head 'no' but can't say anything. He pushes himself toward the toilet and empties his stomach into it. He cringes. "This is so embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it." She rubs his back to try to comfort him. "It's okay." She glances toward the door. He's being so loud as he continues to wretch. She can just imagine her parents walking in at any moment.

Nate clings onto the white porcelain and tries to stop moaning. He can hear Lycea move around and get him a cold wash cloth.

"Here." She tries to hand it to him, but he is holding onto the toilet with a death grip. "I… here." She wipes the sweat off of his forehead and washes his mouth.

"Thanks," he weakly says.

"Did you eat something you're allergic to? Should I call someone?"

"No. Please, don't tell my dads." He finally sinks back against the wall. "I'll be fine. They don't need to worry about it."

"You're so pale."

"I'm fine." He looks up at her. "I'm fine."

…

Logan runs to his parents' room and frantically wakes them up. "There's something wrong with Nate!"

Stiles is the first one out of bed, but Derek is close behind him. They hurry to the bathroom where they can hear their son crying. Stiles tries to open the door, but it's locked. "Nate, what's wrong?!"

Derek pulls the door off its hinges. They enter the bathroom and see Nathan sobbing into the toilet bowl. Stiles bends down beside him and places his hand on the back of his head. "Nate."

He gasps for air between sobs. "I lied."

Stiles' heart sinks, and he looks up at his husband. Absolute fury burns in Derek's eyes. Of course, it is directed at the Alpha, not his son.

"I lied. I lied. I lied."

"Shhh…" Stiles comforts. "Nate, everything will be okay. I swear. You'll be fine."

Nathan spits into the toilet and continues to cry.


	9. Chapter 9

Derek and Stiles are sitting at the kitchen island. They're not talking. They're not eating. They're just… sitting, staring, thinking. Stiles rubs his thumb around the rim of a coffee cup as he sits and tries not to break down. Derek stares mindlessly out the window. Anything could be happening within his field of vision, but he wouldn't see it. His thoughts are the only thing he's focusing on.

He sighs and rests his elbows on the cold countertop. It is almost startling when his husband speaks.

"I knew," Stiles says.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, yes, I did." Stiles puts his head in his hands. "I knew he was lying. I knew it! I didn't want it to be true though, so when he said nothing happened… I wanted that to be the truth so badly that I let it go."

Neither one knows what else to say. They sit in silence for a few moments longer. Again, Stiles is the first to speak.

"He's going to have a baby. Oh my gosh, Derek! Our son is going to have a baby."

Derek puts his hands on Stiles' shoulders. "We don't… know that, yet. Not for sure."

"Can you smell it on him? Like, did it change his scent? You knew about me when I was pregnant with Laura because my scent changed."

"The bite changed his scent. He got bit and… the Alpha…" His eyes flicker at the thought of what that monster did to his son. He has to calm himself down before he can even begin to speak again. "Both things happened on the same day. It's all too much; I don't know what's what."

Logan creeps around the corner and sheepishly begins to speak. "Dad?" Both men turn to face him. "Nate's crying again." Stiles stands up and moves past his son.

Derek is the one that sees the tears in his eyes. He hurries to him. "Logan…"

Logan's voice cracks as he speaks. "He won't let me do anything. I tried all I could to comfort him. But I don't know what to do. He just yells at me to go away and keeps crying."

Derek hugs him. "It's okay. None of us really know what to do. We just need to be there for him. He probably needs some space, so don't push too hard, okay?"

"Okay."

"We have to be strong for him. We… I don't know, son, but… we have to be there for him, for whatever he needs."

…

Stiles knocks on the door as he opens it. He notices that Nathan stops crying, but he doesn't move. "Nate. You okay, buddy?"

"No," is the young boy's pathetic reply.

"Stupid question. Geeze, Nate, I'm sorry. Um… What can I do? Do you need something?"

"I'm fine, Dad."

"Do you need some water? Some soup? A book?! Anything, I'll get it."

Nathan quickly sits up in bed. "DAD! Stop! I'm fine. Just, stop! I don't need books. I don't need any freakin' soup. Leave me alone!"

Stiles nods his head. "Okay. I'll go."

"No. Dad, wait." He crosses his legs and looks up at his father. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's okay."

"You don't have to go."

"No, I know. But, I'll give you some time alone. It's fine."

Stiles walks back into the kitchen. "Where's Logan?"

"Outside. Taking a walk. Thinking, I guess."

Stiles walks up and wraps his arms around his mate. He can feel that he is slightly shaking. "Derek. What is it?"

Derek turns around. "When Nathan attacked Laura and he had his panic attack… He came back to himself, and I was on top of him holding him down. What did he think of me?!"

"Shhh, Derek. You didn't know. None of us knew. You were trying to help. There's no way you could have known."

"What are we going to do, Stiles?"


	10. Chapter 10

Logan walks over to Nathan's bed and slaps his brother's knee. "Nathan, stop whimpering and go to sleep."

"Sorry," Nate mumbles as he wipes his eyes. "I can't help it."

"I know you're tired of us all asking, but… Do you need something?"

He sighs. "No, Logan. I don't need anything. Go back to bed. I'll try to go to sleep."

Instead of leaving, Logan plops down on the bed. "Remember when I pushed you off the porch and you broke your arm?"

Nathan rolls his eyes just like his father and shakes his head. "You didn't push me off. You started to fall, and I tried to catch you."

Logan waves his arms in the air. "Exactly! You tried to catch me even though you knew I was going to pull you down with me. You know why you did that?"

"Because I'm an idiot?" Nathan guesses.

"No. Because you're a good person. You're a good person, Nathan. So, stop blaming yourself for what happened. It's not your fault." "Who said I was blaming myself?" Nathan asks.

"I'm your brother. I know when you're blaming yourself for something." He lies down beside his brother like he always used to when he wanted to get or provide comfort. "You didn't do anything wrong. So, stop acting like you did."

Nathan hugs him. "Thanks, Logan."

They lie there for a while before Logan speaks up again.

"Oh, by the way. Lycea called."

Nathan pulls away so he can look into his brother's eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Wow, dude. Whatever you did had to be extremely horrible if it made you think that she never wanted to see you again."

"I threw up everywhere. Repeatedly." Nathan cringes at the confession.

Logan rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot. Nate. Dude. Brother-o-mine. If she could overlook the fact that you're a werewolf, I think she could get past the fact that you puked on her bunny slippers."

Nathan smiles. It's not a smile that goes all the way to his eyes, but it's a soft smile all the same. And, that's a start.


	11. Chapter 11

She still wants him, still wants to call him and hang out. It's a miracle. Nathan has no idea why she could possibly still want him. First, he's totally a werewolf now- just like the rest of his family. Then, he sneaks over to her house for some sexy times, almost gets caught, sneaks back in and then completely chickens out. And if that weren't enough, she has to take care of him the next morning while he's puking up what tastes like rotten liver. He hadn't even eaten liver- so that means it was probably his own rotten liver spewing into the toilet bowl, and that didn't even matter because maybe, just maybe, that's what was making everything freaking hurt so bad.

So, yeah, she still wants him even after all of that, but there's no way he's going to tell her that he's pregnant. Correction, might be pregnant. She's opening her front door and smiling at him now. Her perfume is so strong he literally thinks about committing suicide to put himself out of his misery. Oh, who's he kidding, he's totally pregnant.

And she's saying something. Holy crap, he gets bitten by a werewolf, and he suddenly has the attention span of his brother. Ahh! Focus, Nathan, she's still talking.

"Are you okay?"

Nathan blinks and tries to focus on her face.

"Nate, are you okay?"

"I'm okay. It's just…" He cringes as a soft breeze forces the scent of ethyl alcohol, artificial coconut, and very artificial mango into his nostrils. "You smell."

Lycea's eyes widen, and she gapes at him. "What?"

"Well, not you. Your perfume, it's just… really strong."

"It's what you got me for my birthday… before you were bitten. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." She starts rubbing at her neck. "I'll go wash it off."

Before he can tell her not to worry about it, she has slammed the door and rushed into the bathroom. The blanket of particles still hovers in the air, and he really hopes her parents don't find out he threw up in their petunias.

…

He doesn't realize he has fallen asleep in the passenger seat until he feels someone shaking him. He flails a bit until he sees that it's just Lycea.

She smiles sweetly. "We're here."

He nods and opens his door. He lets his eyes fall closed as the breeze hit his face. Something smells spicy, but in a cinnamon-sweet sort of way.

"What's that smell?"

"You realize I have no idea what you're smelling, right?" Lycea giggles and pulls her boyfriend out of the car.

He turns his head to try to pick up more of the scent. All he can see, though, is some herbs growing in the garden by the house they're in front of.

"Come on, Nate. Yiayia made a coffeecake especially for you!"

Nate's stomach drops. "Yay." He tries to smile, but just the thought of coffeecake makes him want to vomit.

…

He eats three slices, only stopping at that because there is none left. Yiayia smiles and nods toward his empty teacup.

"More tea, dear?"

"Yes, please." Nathan eagerly watches as she pours more of the tea into his cup. He takes a sip before asking a question. "Where do you buy this?"

Lycea's grandmother smiles. "I don't buy it. I make it myself. It's my own secret recipe. I grow all of the tea and herbs right out there in my little garden."

"It's delicious." Nate says as he takes another gulp. It really does taste so good. He feels warm all over, and it has greatly settled his stomach.

"I'll let you take some home so you can drink it later."

Nate smiles. "I'd appreciate that. As long as it's not too much trouble."

"Oh, dear, it isn't. I have quite a bit put away in the cabinets. It's the same tea you've been drinking every other time you've been here. Funny how you've just now grown to like it. I knew you were just pretending before." She smiles.

Nathan turns his eyes from her, and Lycea clears her throat. So awkward.

"Lycea, are you sure you won't try the tea?" Yiayia asks.

"No, thank you. I already know how…" she cringes "good it tastes."

"More for me," Nathan laughs.

"Yes," Yiayia nods. "More for you."


	12. Chapter 12

The whole pack is at the Hale house for dinner. They talk and have a good time. Nathan even tries to get in on the conversation, but he was never too talkative before the kidnapping let alone now.

His stomach is slightly upset so he watches what he eats. He has a little bit of lasagna, but he mostly sticks to the salad and breadsticks. But, by the time Stiles serves the dessert, he's feeling really queasy. He tries to eat a few bites of the pineapple upside-down cake but is soon pushing himself away from the table. Nate hurries off to the nearest bathroom.

Scott looks at Stiles. "What's wrong with him?"

Stiles swallows. "He's okay."

They hear him coughing and gagging. Allison looks worried. "That doesn't sound okay to me."

The toilet flushes and the water turns on and off. The pack can hear Nathan walk into the kitchen and start rattling some pots and pans.

"Nathan?" Derek asks.

"I'm fine," he calls.

They can hear him filling something up with water and turning the stove on. Then, they hear him stomping back to the bathroom and gagging again. He returns to the kitchen just as the tea kettle whistles. When he enters back into the dining room, he can see that his father is trying to get the group to stop asking questions.

"It's okay, Dad. They need to know."

Derek looks at him. "Nate, you don't have to. We don't even know yet."

"No. It's fine." He slouches against the door frame and scuffs his shoe across the floor as he stares at the tea in his cup. "We…" He sighs and looks around the sea of faces. "We think I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Complete and total silence.

"What?!" Scott stammers.

Jackson and Boyd immediately jump to their feet. Surprisingly Jackson seems to be the most furious. "I am going to kill that son of a…" Lydia smacks him and points to the children in the room. He just growls at her.

"It's okay, guys," Nathan starts. "I mean, it's not okay, but…"

Allison excuses herself from the table. Scott looks to his Alphas. "Has he been to Deaton to confirm it? Maybe… It all happened the same night. That's a lot for his body to deal with. Maybe he's not."

Stiles speaks. "Deaton's out of town, remember? He'll be back soon. We've already called him, but he can't come back from whatever he's doing until it's over. As soon as he gets back we'll find out for sure."

"We're pretty sure, though. What else could be making me so sick?" Nathan concludes. He slowly turns and walks into the living room to drink his tea.

Logan tromps in a few minutes later. "Well, whole pack down, one to go."

Nathan shakes his head. "I can't tell her. She'd dump me for sure. Don't you realize how crazy male pregnancy sounds to normal people?!"

"She fell in love with you; she's not normal."

"If I didn't need this tea I'd throw it in your face." Nathan swirls the liquid around in the cup.

"Eww, please don't." Logan scrunches up his face. "That stuff smells horrible."

"It's good."

"Whatever you say, Preggers. Next thing I know, you'll be eating pickles and ice cream, or… or chocolate covered sardines." Logan grimaces.

"That does sound pretty good," Nathan jokes, and Logan makes a fake gagging sound.

…

He gives himself a silent pep talk before saying it. "I might be pregnant," Nathan confesses.

Lycea looks at the three men in front of her. "Excuse me?"

"I might be pregnant," Nathan states again.

"You can't be serious. You're a guy." Lycea laughs nervously.

Derek hands her a photo album filled with old family photos from both of Stiles' pregnancies. She only looks at a few pictures before she thrusts it away from her. She may or may not faint.

…

"You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm serious. We don't know for sure yet, but…" Nate starts, but she cuts him off.

She quickly stands up and shouts, "It's nothing I did, is it?!"

Nathan buries his face into his hands.

Stiles' eyes widen. "Excuse me?! Nathan, after Quinn you said you wanted to wait until you were married… You promised…" He groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "NATE! I swear I want to BEAT you right now!"

Derek places his hand on his mate's shoulder. "Nathan, we'll talk about that little tidbit of information later. But right now, Lycea, we just wanted you to know."

"This is crazy." She crosses her arms in front of her and begins to chew on her fingernail.

Nate lowers his head and tries to hide his face. He absolutely does not expect her to wrap her arms around him. He clings to her.

"You'll be a great dad." She wipes a tear from his cheek. "Or mom, whatever." She turns her attention to Stiles. "When will you know for sure?"

"The vet… doctor gets back into town next Friday. He'll let us know then."

Lycea nods. "Okay." She kisses Nathan on the cheek. "Now, stop crying. You'll be fine."


	13. Chapter 13

Author Notes: At about 2,250 words, this is definately the longest chapter I've ever written! Hope you like it! Most of it is actually based on a dream I had one night, so I changed it around to deal with the characters in this fic. I don't even have kids so I don't know why I had the dream, but let me tell you it was terrifying. ...

Nathan and Lycea are lying on his bed. He has one arm folded under his head as he stares at the ceiling. Lycea's head is lying on his shoulder, and she has one hand on his stomach. She absentmindedly rubs her thumb back and forth as she softly hums a song.

He shifts and tries to move his stomach away from her. The longer she rests her hand there, the more uncomfortable he is getting. His heart is beating faster and faster. She continues to hum, and he suddenly feels trapped. It's like his throat is closing up. He just wants her to stop.

Again, he tries to move so she will take her hand away. She doesn't.

"STOP!"

Lycea jumps back like something hit her. "What's wrong?!" "Stop rubbing my stomach!" Nate squeals.

She looks at her hand, clearly confused. "I didn't even realize I was doing anything." She sees how upset he is. "I'm sorry."

"I can't do this." Nate shakes his head. "I can't do this!"

"Nate, it's okay." She moves up so she can hug him. "You don't even know for sure yet. You haven't felt sick in a while. Maybe you're not pregnant after all."

"I'm pregnant, Lycea. It's too much to all be a coincidence." He looks at her. "What am I supposed to do? I'm not ready to be a parent. I had my whole life ahead of me until…"

"It's not fair, and I know it's scary. But we can do this."

"We?"

"If you'll let me, I'll be beside you all the way. Well, except maybe for the delivery," she visibly pales as she thinks back to the conversation. "Your dad really doesn't have a filter, does he?"

Nathan laughs. It's slightly hysterical at first but soon diminishes to a happy giggle. His eyes crinkle in the corners as he smiles just like Derek. "He really doesn't."

They both lie back. Nathan suddenly feels exhausted, though it's probably more emotional than physical. Lycea smiles as she watches her boyfriend drift off to sleep. He turns on his right side and wraps his arms around her. He whispers "I love you" into her neck before kissing that spot and giving in to his body's plea for sleep.

…

The peace Nathan gets from talking to his girlfriend doesn't last long. His mind starts going over every horrible possibility of what will happen if he really is pregnant and has a baby. What's he going to do when he starts showing? He'll be stuck in the house for day after day with nothing to do but watch as his stomach continues to expand. What about college? What about finding a job? Sure, the pack can babysit sometimes, but… What if it's a girl? He doesn't know anything about raising a girl! Oh, who's he kidding, he doesn't know anything about raising a boy either. What will he name it? It has to be a good name; he can't just choose anything. Why's he so worried about names? Oh geeze, and the birth! He can't go through that. What Stiles described is an absolute nightmare. What do you feed a baby? Sure, he was around when all the little pack babies were being fed, but it's not like he was paying attention. He didn't know there was going to be a test!

You'd think after thinking and thinking about things, a brain would finally just give out; sputter like an old car and die. But, no, Nathan's brain just keeps on going. The more he thinks, the more stressed he gets. Stress isn't good on babies, is it? Better add that to his list of things to look up. After a whole day of worrying himself sick, he changes into some pajamas, fixes some tea, and heads to bed.

Nathan is dreaming again. He has been startled awake because of nightmares almost every night since the kidnapping, but this is different. It's different and so, so much worse. He's standing on the porch smoking a cigarette. This is strange in itself because he doesn't smoke, but he finds himself raising it to his lips anyway. And, why is he outside?

Nate has an uneasy feeling but tries to push it away. Finishing his cigarette, he drops it and smashes it beneath his heavy leather boot. He looks down and watches the ashes scatter across the wood. It reminds him of something, but he can't quite grasp the memory.

Suddenly, he is standing in front of another house. Dreams are weird like that. It looks completely normal, and a small child is playing in the grass making mud pies. He kneels down in front of the boy and smiles at him. The child doesn't seem to see him, and soon the mother is coming out and snatching him away.

Nathan watches as he is carried away. He can hear the loving woman telling her child he better get a bath before his daddy gets home.

He stands up and puts his hand on his stomach. He looks around but doesn't see what he's looking for. Yelling his own son's name, he begins searching. Nathan hurries back to his house. When he sees it, it is in a state that he has only seen in old pictures. He opens the burnt door, and its hinges squeak like those in a horror movie. He yells again, but hears nothing. He turns around and can see the woman and child as if he's looking through a foggy window. He can see the child splashing around in the tub as the mother looks on and smiles.

His stomach clenches as he remembers why it felt so strange to be outside. Nate turns back to his front door and calls out his son's name once more. He listens and all he can hear is running water coming from the upstairs bathroom. He races up the charred stairs and weaves through the maze of burned, dilapidated rooms.

Water is pooled beneath the bathroom door, and he steps in it. He grips the door knob and tries to open the blackened door. He screams for his son, but all he can hear is the continuous gush of water. He mutters a small "please" under his breath and the door finally swings open.

He races to the bathtub, stepping on a rubber duck as he goes. He reaches into the water just as his dream fades away.

…

The scream rings through the whole house and echoes out into the surrounding forest. In the master bedroom, Stiles startles and flings himself off the side of the bed. "Holy crap!" is all he can say before he and his husband are running to Nathan's room.

In their room, Allison instinctually reaches for the weapon she used to keep in the bedside table. And in the Whittemore abode, Lydia sits straight up in bed and covers her chest with her trembling hand. She's scared about what caused the scream but is thankful it wasn't her own shout for once.

As the two Alphas near their sons' room, they can hear Logan pleading with Nathan to calm down. Stiles rushes to the bed knowing Derek will turn on the light as he enters the room.

"Nate. Shh… calm down." Stiles rubs his son's arm.

Derek tries to take charge of the situation. "Logan, what happened?"

He looks from his brother to his father. "I was asleep, but I guess he was dreaming. He's woken up a lot since he was taken, but not like this. First thing I know, he's screaming like a banshee. I ran over to him, and he kept yelling "Eric, Eric" again and again."

Stiles tries to get Nathan to calm down, but he seems disoriented.

"I killed him. I… I let him die," Nathan whispers.

"Nate, come on. Look at me," Stiles works to get him to fully wake up. Slowly Nathan's eyes clear, and he looks up at his dad. He licks his lips and sighs.

Stiles looks at his still trembling son. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sick." He pushes his dad away from him. "I'm sick." He climbs out of bed and stumbles to the bathroom.

When the phone calls start coming in, the three Hales assure everyone that things are okay. Soon Nathan shuffles back into the room clearly exhausted. Derek is the first to speak.

"Who's Eric?"

Nathan shakes his head. "No one." He sits down in bed. "It was just a dream."

"Sounded like a nightmare to me," Logan states.

"I'm sorry." He refuses to cry this time. He's sick and tired of feeling so weak. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare me?!" Logan squeaks. "I think I peed my pants! That was horrifying. Pregnant or not, if I need to change my sheets, you're helping me."

Derek shakes his head at him. "Logan…"

Nathan swallows. "Just go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you all up."

After a few minutes, Nathan finally coaxes them all back to bed. Once his parents are gone and Logan is back in bed, he grabs his cell phone. Who cares if it's three o'clock in the morning?

Txt to Deaton 3:27am: Doc, sure you can't get back sooner?

Txt to Nathan 3:35am: Nathan, I'm sorry. I can't.

Txt to Deaton 3:36am: I can't be a parent! I need to know. I'm going crazy.

Txt to Nathan 3:40am: It's going to be okay. Trust me.

Txt to Deaton 3:41am: This is torture. Not knowing… I can't have a baby, Doc. I can't.

Txt to Nathan 3:50am: Don't do anything stupid.

Txt to Deaton 4:00am: I won't.

Txt to Nathan 4:01am: Go to sleep.

Txt to Laura 4:30am: U awake?

Txt to Nathan 4:35am: I am now, brat. What's wrong?

Txt to Nathan 4:50am: Nathan?

Txt to Laura 4:55am: I can't have a baby.

Txt to Nathan 4:56am: We don't know for sure yet.

Txt to Laura 4:58am: Do I have any options?

Txt to Nathan 5:00am: Options? What do you mean?

Txt to Laura 5:03am: I mean, adoption is most likely not an option.

Txt to Nathan 5:07am: You CAN'T be thinking of an abortion.

Txt to Nathan 5:10am: Nate. Who would even do it?

Txt to Nathan 5:15am: That is NOT an option!

Txt to Laura 5:16am: I can't be a parent. What am I supposed to do?!

Txt to Nathan 5:20am: I'll raise it. I'll love it as if it were my own. You won't have to worry.

Txt to Laura 5:21am: You'd do that for me?

Txt to Nathan 5:22am: If that's what you want, yes.

Txt to Laura 5:25am: I love you, Laura.

Txt to Nathan 5:26am: I'll always love you too.

Txt to Laura 5:27am: I'm going to go to bed now.

Txt to Nathan 5:28am: Good idea. My summer finals are in two days. We'll talk when I get back to town.

Nathan closes his eyes in relief and finally goes back to sleep.

…

The next morning Stiles and Derek are sitting at the kitchen island waiting for the bacon to finish cooking. The phone rings and Derek answers it. "Hello?... No, I didn't know that… Are you sure?... Thank you for your concern. I'll make sure to talk to him about it… Yes, let us know when you get back… Thank you… Bye."

He turns back to Stiles. "That was Deaton. Apparently, Nathan texted him at 3:30 this morning talking about how he absolutely can't be a parent. He said he was worried that Nathan might try to do something to himself or the baby."

"What?" Stiles is shocked. "He'd never do anything like that."

"Deaton seemed really nervous. He never acts nervous."

Just then, Logan and Nathan come into the kitchen. Stiles confronts his son. "Nathan, did you text Deaton this morning?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He's worried about you."

"No need to be worried. I stayed up and planned everything out." Nathan nods. "I think it'll work."

"What will work? You're not planning on doing something crazy are you?" Derek places his hand on his cheek to make sure his son is looking at him. "Having a kid is scary, but you can do it. Whatever you're thinking about doing… You can't do it."

"Laura said she'd help."

"What?!" Stiles gasps. "Help you do what?!"

Nathan furrows his brows and looks at his parents strangely. "Raise it. What do you think I'm talking about? She said that if I decide that's what I want, she'll raise it for me. I mean, think about it. She'll have her degree after one more semester. Her career is basically set in stone. She's older. She's smart and would know what she's doing. I… who knows what would happen if I raised it."

Stiles hugs him. "It's okay to be scared. No one's ever really ready to be a parent. But, I'm sure you'd be a good one."

"Maybe." He swallows thickly, thinking back to his dream. "It's not a done deal or anything. She said we'd talk after she gets done with her summer classes. If I decide to keep it, fine. If I let her take it, that's okay too. I'm not sure what I want, but at least now I know I have options. I feel so much better about it all. Now I just have to wait until Deaton gets back next week."

Derek thinks about things for a minute. "That's good."

Stiles motions both children over. "Come on. Let's eat breakfast."


	14. Chapter 14

After what the pack refuses to call morning sickness (for the sake of Nathan's sanity) begins, Derek is reluctant to keep training his son. But, he needs to be able to control himself, so it has to be done. Everyone agrees to be careful not to use all their strength "in case" he's pregnant.

It's about five weeks after the attack and Deaton is finally going to be back today. Nathan is currently sparring against Logan. What little strength he felt like he had this morning is completely gone by now. The queasiness is only getting worse, and he feels so weak; weaker than he's ever felt since he was turned.

He tries to transform into his beta form, but the effort is just too much. He continues to wrestle against his brother, but it's not a very effective struggle. Logan quickly turns, and suddenly Nathan is falling. His right middle finger bends backward and snaps. He yelps and brings his hand up to look at it.

"Whoa," Logan laughs. "We should totally get a picture of that. That angle is not normal!"

"Thanks for your concern." Nate rolls his eyes at his brother.

"It'll heal."

Nathan stands up and tries to get his finger straight. It really hurts when he pulls on it. Maybe if he just shakes his hand really fast… He howls and bounces on his toes for a few seconds. He is cradling his hand in his other hand when Stiles walks up to them.

"What's wrong?"

Logan is the first to speak. "Nate broke his finger."

Stiles looks at his son. He looks almost green. "It'll heal. Here, let's get it straight." He starts to pull it out, and Nate whimpers. Stiles sees him bite his lip to keep from screaming. "It doesn't feel any better at all?"

"It feels worse," Nathan moans.

"I'll be back." Stiles goes to get Derek.

Derek walks back over with his husband and begins to examine his son.

"It's been like five minutes, Dad. It's not healing," Logan informs his father.

"No kidding," he looks at his son's crooked finger. "Do you feel any healing at all?"

Nathan shakes his head. And, that was a mistake. His world is suddenly spinning, and holy crap…

His family watches him as he grimaces and runs to a nearby tree. He braces himself against it as he doubles over and empties his stomach. Stiles hurries over to comfort him. He no sooner gets to him than he is screaming for Derek.

Derek runs to them and sees it… the black specks mixed in with the bile pooled on the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

"I don't feel good," Nathan mumbles. It's suddenly too difficult to stand, and he lets his parents ease him to the ground.

Derek pulls his phone out of his pocket and hits the speed dial.

"Alan…" The vet begins to answer.

"Deaton, are you back yet?" Derek is panicked.

"I'm an hour outside Beacon Hills."

"We'll meet you at your office." He tosses his phone to Logan and lifts Nathan into his arms.

They sit in the car together as they wait for Deaton to arrive. Nathan throws up more and more blackness into a small trash can.

Logan scrunches his nose and leans up to whisper to his dad. "Dad, he smells."

Stiles glares at him. "Logan…"

They wait. And they wait, and wait, and wait.

The fourth time Nathan gets sick it looks completely normal. No blackness in sight, but he still gags and wretches all the same.

Logan turns to him. "I would tell you that you sound like a dying goose, but now's not the time, is it?"

"It really isn't," Nathan whimpers.

That's when Deaton finally arrives.

Derek carries his son into the exam room. Deaton examines him and takes some blood. He frowns at the vile and rummages through his cabinets. He mixes up a concoction and forces Nate to drink it… all of it.

In an hour, Nathan feels better than he has in weeks. Deaton walks back into the room and sits down in front of the group of werewolves.

"So…" Deaton smiles. "You're **not** pregnant." The smell of relief floods the room. "But…"

"But, what?" Nathan gulps.

"It looks like things are reversing."

"So, I was pregnant?"

Deaton shrugs. "Maybe. It's hard to tell. You could have been, but I highly doubt it. Look, Nate. You're… you're not even a werewolf anymore. Everything since the bite has been reversed."

"What?" Stiles is shocked. "How?"

"I think it has something to do with this." He pulls out Nathan's blood sample. There's an iridescent blue glow in it. "It's aconitum delphinifolium, a type of wolfsbane."

"How did that get in his system?" Derek stands up and protectively hovers near his son.

"It had to be ingested. There's enough in his bloodstream to suggest that he's been consuming it for quite some time now."

"So someone's been poisoning me?" Nathan is startled.

"Not exactly poisoning. They've been medicating you. It's the levels of this specific type of wolfsbane that are responsible for reversing the effects of the bite. You should be thanking them, Nate. You didn't want to be a werewolf or pregnant and now you're not."

"Who would know how to do this?" Stiles asks.

"Someone smart. Someone who's been around wolves and knows a great deal of information about them. Someone trying to be helpful."

Logan stares at the vet. "Someone like you."

"Yes, someone like me."

Derek growls. "Was it you?"

Deaton refuses to be intimidated. "No. I haven't seen this species of aconitum in years. Interesting plant, you know. Native to Alaska and other northern regions. Not sure how it got here. If it were dried, yes, it's possible to transport. But, this, this wolfsbane was fresh. Had to be fresh for it to work the way it did."

"Nate," Derek asks, "do you know anyone who would know how to use this?"

Nathan frowns and shakes his head. "I don't…" The words 'my own secret recipe' ring in his ears. "Oh my gosh!" He jumps off the exam table.

"Nathan, who is it?" Stiles wants to know… needs to know.

"She knew! The whole time, she knew!"

"Who?" Derek looks into his son's eyes.

He smiles. "Lycea's grandmother. The tea she gave me. The coffeecake… She had a garden. I always felt so much better when I was there. It was her. It had to be."


	16. Chapter 16

The whole pack, other than those who are working or shopping (Lydia), crams into the two largest of the pack vehicles and begins heading up to Yiayia's house. Nathan tries to call Lycea multiple times to tell her the news, but he can't get a hold of her. He finally sends her a text and puts his phone away.

They arrive at the small house and file out of the cars. Stiles side-eyes the garden with a mix of suspicion and gratitude.

Nate knocks on the door, and it soon swings open. As soon as the elderly woman has seen the pack of wolves on her front step, she slams the door closed again. Nathan chuckles, "Yiayia, it's okay. We're here to thank you."

The door quickly opens back up, and Lycea's grandmother smiles at him. "It worked?"

Nathan leans down to hug her. "It worked."

The pack crowds into the house and sits down when she motions them to do so. Other than Nathan, no one has ever met Yiayia before, so the whole pack feels a little awkward just sitting there.

"How did you know?" Nathan questions.

She grins. "Surely you know how famous the Hale pack is. You must have realized someone like me would recognize the name."

"Someone like you?" Nathan shakes his head. "I don't understand. Who are you, really? All this time, I thought you were just a little old lady who enjoyed making tea and coffeecake."

"You underestimate me, Nate." She gazes at the faces in the room. "I'm a friend. That's all I'll say for now."

Stiles shifts in his chair before finally speaking. "What did you mean by our pack being famous? We try to hide the fact that we're a pack as much as we possibly can. How can we be famous?"

Yiayia smiles. "Surely you know the respect we have for you. Myself, Alan Deaton, and a few others. The Hales are the phoenix pack. You have quite literally risen from the ashes. Any pack that can do that is sure to become famous. We haven't seen a pack with the same strength you possess in centuries."

…

Yiayia's parlor hasn't been this full in years. She scurries about getting them refreshments that she absolutely promises have in no way come in contact with wolfsbane. But still, most of the werewolves are too wary to take any.

They talk for a while, and the pack thanks her multiple times. After two hours, Nathan's finger is absolutely throbbing, and they decide to leave.

"Oh, Nathan, before you go…" Yiayia walks over to him with a medium sized tin in her hands. "I made a new blend of tea. I want you to try it first. The tin's a little rusty on bottom so be careful none of it falls out."

"Thank you, Yiayia."

"Don't drink it all at once, now." She smiles, and Nathan gives her one last hug. She closes the door and walks back to her favorite chair. "You never know when you might need it."


	17. Chapter 17

Lycea knocks on the door and waits for an answer. It's unlocked, but she hates to go in without anyone knowing. She looks through the windows to see why no one is coming to the door. Someone is always at the Hale house; it doesn't make sense for it to be empty. She turns to walk back to the door and sees something from the corner of her eye. She almost screams when she finds an unfamiliar werewolf standing behind her at the bottom of the front steps.

"Hello, there," he smiles. Lycea opens the door and runs inside.

…

They're on their way back from Lycea's grandmother's house when Nathan's phone rings. He squints at the screen when he sees that the call is coming from his house. No one's there. He answers it with a confused "hello?"

"Nathan!" Lycea's voice immediately screams into his ear. "They're at your house. They're… they're here, at your house. You have to hurry." The call is muffled, but he can barely pick out the sound of growling and a scream.

"Lycea?!" He turns in his seat so he can lean closer to his father, but Derek has already begun to pick up speed and dart down the road.

When everyone gets back to Beacon Hills, they park far enough away so that the other pack won't know they're there. With stealth, they wind their way around the preserve so they are surrounding the large Hale house. Stiles motions for Nathan to stay back. He crouches down in the leaves and bushes behind his parents.

Derek nods toward Nathan before he begins to get up. He looks at his husband with what seems to be apprehension in his eyes. Stiles leans in and gives him a small kiss. "Let's go." And with that, the two Alphas are charging off toward the house.


	18. Chapter 18

Nathan is terrified. He has no idea what to do. He's human again, so if he could just get to the house. If he could just get to the box in his room, he could save them. He's done it before; he knows he could do it now. Deaton has trained him to use herbs and other magic extremely well, so he knows all he has to do is get some supplies.

He decides to backtrack a little and then head to the rear of the house. He can probably get to the roof and swing through his window from the back porch. The only thing is… he soon realizes there's no need to do any of that.

The box is in the back yard.

It has been burned but is still smoldering. His heart sinks. From his location in the back of the house, he can hear his family fighting against the opposing pack. He has to do something to help. He has to do it now.

He sneaks into the kitchen and searches all of his old hiding spots. All that's left is a small bit of mountain ash. His eyes sweep the room in search of anything, anything he could use to save the pack. He spots the teacup he used to finish up the last of his tea two days ago. It's just sitting there as if it's speaking to him.

He takes a deep breath and darts out of the house. He uses all of his strength and energy to race back to where they left the car. He dives into the back seat and finds the can of tea Lycea's grandmother gave him just an hour ago. Opening it, he can see the many different types of wolfsbane it contains. Surely some of it isn't even wolfsbane, but he doesn't have time to look at it too closely. As he closes the lid he notices an inscription on it - "Flammable: Keep away from heat or flame". Nathan shakes his head, once again amazed at what that little old lady can do.


	19. Chapter 19

Nathan races back to the nearby McCall house and sneaks into the garage. He finds a small box hidden in the corner. It contains several rounds of bullets supplied to the family by Mr. Argent. He doesn't know where Allison keeps the guns, but he has an idea. He opens the tea tin and dumps in all of the bullets and gunpowder he can find. He carefully mixes it all together and runs back to the clearing in front of his house.

Nate quickly begins digging a hole with his foot as he fishes a box of matches out of his pocket. He sets the tin down before quickly ripping all of the matchsticks past the paper to ignite every last one of them. He throws them down into the small hole. Then, he pushes the tin partially into the loose dirt and goes to find the opposing pack.

His pack and the other pack are growling at each other in a standoff. The Hales have gotten Lycea back and are now forming a protective barrier around her.

"Hey!" he yells. The Alpha turns to him. "You're the one who bit me."

Derek turns to look at him in shock. "Nate, what are you doing? Get out of here."

Nate ignores his father and continues to speak to the other Alpha. "You're my Alpha; my alliances should be with you…"

"Well, that's a good little boy, but that's not really what I'm after right now."

"They should be with you, but they're not."

The Alpha groans in annoyance. "That really makes me no difference either. I only bit you so you couldn't use your magic."

"That's what you're after, then? If you want our territory, I know a way to get it for you."

"Oh you do?" he asks, still not interested in what the young boy has to say.

"You act like you don't believe me. Let's just call a truce, okay? I'm sure my dads will agree. You get our land… we'll leave… just let me and the pup go with them."

And that… that gets his attention. "Pup?"

"You didn't know?" Nathan laughs bitterly. "You rape me… what was it? SIX times? And, you don't think about the probability of at least one of them taking?" He slowly backs up a ways when the Alpha starts toward him.

The Alpha looks to his few pack members "I don't know about you boys, but I've suddenly had a change of heart." He turns to Derek. "The fight's over, you win, but we get the kid."

When the Alpha grabs Nathan, he screams. He doesn't mean to because this is actually just what he wanted, but it's so sudden that he just automatically begins to panic. Stiles starts to run forward, but Nathan opens his eyes wide in what he hopes is a clear signal.

The Alpha continues to carry him back toward their vehicles. They're in front of the house when Nate yells "Stop!"

The Alpha actually stops.

"Please, just let me say goodbye. Let me hug my girlfriend, I didn't get to do that last time."

The Alpha sighs but begins to release him. Nathan is just able to trail his foot along the ground before the creature is jerking him back up. "Changed my mind."

"Too late," Nathan hisses.

"What?" he snarls.

Nathan punches the Alpha in the face as hard as humanly possible (who cares about the pain, one finger is already broken anyway…) and jerks free of his grasp. The Alpha tries to grab him back, but he can't get past the ash that is encircling his little pack.

Nate smiles and turns away from them calmly. But then, he starts to pick up speed. "Run! Run, run, run, run!"

The whole group trusts him even though they have no idea what's going on. They run away from the area and fall to the ground when they hear and feel the explosion of hundreds of bullets. They recover from the blast and see the holey remains of the enemy pack.

"What the heck was that?" Stiles mumbles in awe.

Nathan sighs and lets a small smile tug on the corner of his mouth. "Tea."


	20. Epilogue

Author Notes: I wanted so badly to end the whole fic with that one stupid line – ("What the heck was that?" "Tea.") But I couldn't bring myself to do it. So, here is an epilogue. :)

Once Lycea finally stops shaking, she thinks back to what led up to the explosion of gunfire. She marches over to Nathan and yells at him. "WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU DO THAT FOR?! You just… Are you CRAZY!?"

"Whoa, Lycea, calm down. I planned all that out a good ten minutes ago. I knew what I was doing. Everything went the way I wanted it to." Nate smiles because he is extremely happy that everything is over with. Lycea and his family are safe, and he can say that he was responsible for killing the monster who raped him. That's always a plus.

"I **saw** him grab you. You were terrified. Oh my gosh, Nate. What if he would have taken you? He would have taken you and the baby and… We would have never seen you again!"

"Wait, wait, wait." Nathan hugs his girlfriend. "You don't know yet."

"Know what?"

"Doc Deaton got back today. I'm not pregnant." He holds up his broken finger(s). "I'm human, too."

She pulls away from him. Not knowing what to say to him, she stands there dumbfounded.

"Lycea?"

"What… what are you talking about?"

Nate smiles. "Your grandmother was… 'medicating' me."

"What?! She's a harmless old woman, how would she know about werewolves and how to 'medicate' them?"

"She always said she's psychic. I guess that's not her only talent."

Lycea rolls her eyes. "She's not psychic."

"Oh really, Lycea Alastrine Conor?" Nathan laughs. "I remember hearing a story about how you got that name. Didn't she have a dream about a little girl in the woods being protected by a pack of wild animals? Sounds like today to me."

"I'm not a little girl," Lycea pales even though she says she doesn't believe it, "so, no, that doesn't sound like today." She tries to smile, but she's completely freaked out. Nothing her grandmother has predicted has ever come true before. Right?

Nathan and Lycea have been talking in their own little world and haven't even realized Derek and Stiles walking around making sure everyone is alright. Derek walks up to them.

"Are you two okay?" "Yeah, Dad, we're fine."

Derek squeezes his son's shoulder. "Don't you **ever **do anything that stupid again."

"Yes, sir."

The Alpha leaves them, and they turn to each other.

"So, you're not going to have a baby." Lycea takes his hand.

Nathan squeezes her hand tightly and swings their arms back and forth. "Nope," he smiles.

"Well, don't act so disappointed." She laughs.

"Don't get me wrong, I want children. Someday. I just would like you to be the one having them not me." He stops talking when he sees her blushing. "What?"

"You want me to have your children?"

He rolls his eyes. "Someday."

Author Notes: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :) I have appreciated all of your amazing comments! I'm taking a small break from posting so I can write up a bunch of chapters for Part 8. It's going to be a fic full of new stories and a bunch of deleted scenes from the whole series! Again, thank you for reading! 


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